Eric Gansworth

Eric Gansworth, an enrolled member of the Onondaga Nation, was born and
raised at the Tuscarora Indian Nation in Western New York. He is a Professor of English and
Lowery Writer in Residence at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York.

His first novel, Indian Summers (1998), a collection of poetry and paintings,
titled Nickel Eclipse: Iroquois Moon, (2000) and his second novel, Smoke Dancing (2004)
feature paintings as integral parts of their narratives, and have all been published by Michigan State University
Press. Another novel, Mending Skins, was published by the
University of Nebraska Press in 2005. Short fiction of his has
appeared in the anthologies, Growing Up Native American (Morrow), Blue
Dawn, Red Earth (Doubleday) and Iroquois Voices, Iroquois Visions
(Bright Hill), The Second Word Thursdays Anthology (Bright Hill),
Stories for Winter Nights (White Pine), Fishing for Chickens (Persea),
and Nothing but the Truth: An Anthology of Native American Literature
(Prentice Hall), and in Quartet, a just buffalo literary center, inc.
chapbook. Poetry has been included on Roadkillbasa, a performance
audio tape; and in the journals, Blueline, Shenandoah, The Cream City Review,
Slipstream, phati'tude, and UCLA's American Indian Culture and
Research Journal and in the anthology, Children of the Dragonfly
(University of Arizona Press). His first piece of Creative Non-Fiction
appears in the anthology Genocide of the Mind, (The Nation Books). He
is a member of the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers & Storytellers,
the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, is listed in the Directory
of American Poets & Fiction Writers and in 1999, received a Writer in
Residency award from just buffalo literary center, inc.

Gansworth began his creative work as a visual artist, and eventually expanded to narrative as a
way of furthering the storytelling he had developed visually. His first solo exhibit, titled
"Nickel Eclipse: Iroquois Moon,"opened in 1999 at the Olean Public
Library and an expanded show opened at the Castellani Museum in 2000.
His work has been in shows across New York State, including "Revisiting
Turtle Island,"at the Niagara Arts and Culture Center, "Native
Vision: Art through Haudenosaunee Eyes,"at the Fanette-Goldman
Gallery, "Art Creations from Tuscarora," at Neto Hatinakwe Ohnkwehowe,
the "Keepers of the Western Door" Exhibit, co-sponsored by CEPA Gallery
and the World University Games, and in a follow-up exhibit "In the
Shadow of the Eagle," at the Castellani Museum. He participated in the
"Teaching Metaphors" exhibit at the Niagara County Community College.
His work was also included in "Sharing the Visions," at Hartwick
College in Oneonta. One of his paintings was the cover of Sherman
Alexie's book First Indian on the Moon. Others have been included in
the history text As Long as the Grass Shall Grow and Rivers Flow
(Harcourt Brace) the Iroquois Voices, Iroquois Visions anthology
(Bright Hill), and the journal, The Cream City Review. Presently, he
serves on the Board of Directors of Hallwalls Contemporary Arts
Center. He has also served terms on panels for the Arts Council of
Buffalo and Erie County and the New York State Council on the Arts
Literature Panel, and on the Artists Advisory Committee for the New
York Foundation for the Arts. He was also an artist in the Herd About
Buffalo Project.

Gansworth's work is a commentary on the oral tradition existing within
Haudenosaunee culture and its fluid nature. He uses iconography
recognizable in the context of the mythic Haudenosaunee world, yet
alters it to reflect issues relevant to a more contemporary
Haudenosaunee existence, as well.

Online Interviews and Performances

Awards

Eric was a visiting writer-in-residence at the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities in October 2004.
He was invited to write the entry for American Indian Literature
in New York State, in The Encyclopedia of New York State.
He received a writer-in-residency award from the just buffalo literary center in 1999.
His novel, Indian Summers, chosen for the Readers and Writers on the Air
program on North Country Public Radio, October 1999 and was selected for the
College Libraries' America Reads 2000 project.